Congratulations! You made it! You survived and excelled in your student teaching. You are now a science teacher! If you would, take a few minutes to share your wisdom about how to negotiate this difficult year with the students who are following in your footsteps by answering the following questions.
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
My suggestions may seem slightly random, however they would have been helpful for me. If you are taking any science courses in the fall, try to think about how you may teach the material rather than just absorbing it. I know that there is tons to do, however it will help in the long run by getting in the teacher mode, rather than passive learner mode.
Start keeping an organized binder of any science teaching/lesson plan ideas you have during this time. I know for me I kept thinking of a lot of cool ideas, however when it comes crunch time, and you are responsible for all of these classes, you tend to forget those good ideas.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
Creating assessments is much much harder than it may seem. Creating the test may seem like the easy part, because you just come up with questions and administer the test...not so! There are endless variables that need to be accounted for when creating a test that accurately reflects what you students know/should know. Therefore any activity in EDC430 that might help you prepare for test making is key to pay attention to, and may save you many drafts of the tests you make.
The unit plan that is created in EDC 430 is very helpful to begin to plan out ideas, however I did not find my unit plan to be very applicable in the classroom. Before going into the classroom, it is hard to plan for time management while teaching. My unit plan was very ideal, and did not take into account all the variables that happen endlessly in schools, especially high school. I would focus on making my unit plan flexible, with back up plans!
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...."
1. figured out the actual curriculum while I was observing (not just the standards because teachers have their own agendas)
2. saved more money (if possible) during first semester because I had to cut down on work
3. prepared more teacher outfits
4. come up with my own set of rules, rather than simply adopting my CT's
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
I was terrified of public speaking, and was wondering why I chose the career path I did. Yes, I shook terribly the very first time I tried to introduce a lesson, but it got so much better. After a couple of lessons, and after recognizing that I love to teach science and I am not expected to be perfect the first go-round, I became much calmer, and therefore delivered my lessons much easier and more comprehensive. So if you are thinking that you might run out of the class crying and never return, it is not as bad as you might think, and it is definitely rewarding and an experience you can be proud of when you finish!
a. What are some things students should do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
My suggestions may seem slightly random, however they would have been helpful for me. If you are taking any science courses in the fall, try to think about how you may teach the material rather than just absorbing it. I know that there is tons to do, however it will help in the long run by getting in the teacher mode, rather than passive learner mode.
Start keeping an organized binder of any science teaching/lesson plan ideas you have during this time. I know for me I kept thinking of a lot of cool ideas, however when it comes crunch time, and you are responsible for all of these classes, you tend to forget those good ideas.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
Creating assessments is much much harder than it may seem. Creating the test may seem like the easy part, because you just come up with questions and administer the test...not so! There are endless variables that need to be accounted for when creating a test that accurately reflects what you students know/should know. Therefore any activity in EDC430 that might help you prepare for test making is key to pay attention to, and may save you many drafts of the tests you make.
The unit plan that is created in EDC 430 is very helpful to begin to plan out ideas, however I did not find my unit plan to be very applicable in the classroom. Before going into the classroom, it is hard to plan for time management while teaching. My unit plan was very ideal, and did not take into account all the variables that happen endlessly in schools, especially high school. I would focus on making my unit plan flexible, with back up plans!
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...."
1. figured out the actual curriculum while I was observing (not just the standards because teachers have their own agendas)
2. saved more money (if possible) during first semester because I had to cut down on work
3. prepared more teacher outfits
4. come up with my own set of rules, rather than simply adopting my CT's
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
I was terrified of public speaking, and was wondering why I chose the career path I did. Yes, I shook terribly the very first time I tried to introduce a lesson, but it got so much better. After a couple of lessons, and after recognizing that I love to teach science and I am not expected to be perfect the first go-round, I became much calmer, and therefore delivered my lessons much easier and more comprehensive. So if you are thinking that you might run out of the class crying and never return, it is not as bad as you might think, and it is definitely rewarding and an experience you can be proud of when you finish!